Sealing the trade ban in a moment. However, some see ways around it

In 2021, especially in recent months, retail chains began to open shops almost en masse also on Sundays with a trade ban. Customers got used to the fact that shopping in their favorite chains these days is no longer a problem. Not only in grocery stores, but also in those that offer building materials or home furnishings.

But from February 1, the rules are changing again, thanks to the act tightening the trade ban, voted by the Sejm in September and signed by the president in October last year. The entry into force of the regulations is set for February 1, 2022.

No trade. The method "to the post office" has lost its attractiveness

Since February, the so-called. the postal exception is no longer an attractive gateway for large retail chains. On Sundays covered by the trade ban, only those shops which postal activity generates at least 40% of their sales will be allowed to open. monthly retail sales revenue. Stores that fail to pass this threshold will have to close, unless they make use of another exception.

On Sundays with a ban, establishments trading in consumables for agricultural machinery, etc. may be open. The shop owner, franchisee, and partner in a civil law partnership can still stand behind the counter. He can also ask a family member for help - but free of charge.

There are voices that the provision regarding the opening of a shop by a person who is the owner may leave room for interpretation. Same with the family. Although in the meantime an interpretation of the National Labor Inspectorate and the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy appeared, which explains who can be included in the immediate family of the owner. One should also not forget about new services offered more and more often by chains, such as delivering products to the door (i.e. quick commerce).

The customer doesn't have to come to the store, if he can't, the store will come to him.

Shops that are intensively thinking about how to earn money also on non-commercial Sundays, of course, must remember that for violating the ban on entrusting work in trade or performing activities related to trade the employee is threatened with a fine - from 1 thousand PLN up to PLN 100 thousand zloty. And the State Labor Inspectorate, as in previous years, plans to carry out inspections of commercial establishments in 2022.

"Inspections of compliance with the provisions of the Act on Restricting Trade on Sundays and Holidays and on certain other days, carried out since 2018, will be continued, the purpose of which will be to assess the state of compliance with the regulations and eliminate cases of entrusting employees and employees with work in trade and performing activities related to trade in commercial establishments on the days indicated in the act. The actions taken, as a rule, will be of an intervention nature, the National Labor Inspectorate informed us on Thursday in response to our questions.

She explained that the selection of shops for inspection will be "based on the diagnosis carried out by labor inspectors, reported complaints regarding violations of the bans set out in the aforementioned act, as well as media information".

No trading on Sundays. How will the shops behave?

Mieczysław Gonta, a partner at PwC Polska, with whom we talked about what may happen after February 1, believes that the retail industry will submit to the changes regarding Sunday trading.

- There is no other path, and the decisions we saw at the end of 2021, i.e. opening stores on non-commercial Sundays and launching postal services, were rather temporary. Franchise stores, which can be operated by the owner, will certainly benefit from the changes. Because this exclusion has remained in the law and will be used - says Gonta.

Maciej Kraus, a partner in the Movens Capital fund, which invests e.g. in e-commerce projects. In his opinion, at the beginning, the networks will probably be cautious and no one will want to step out of line.

In a word - a repeat of the recent past, when initially one, then several chains opened the doors of shops on Sundays with a ban, and when the gate was ajar, others walked through it without resistance.

Maciej Kraus admits that he has heard of several ideas for circumventing the amended regulations.

- Żabka will be open on Sundays, this is unlikely to change. Another large, well-known network is also thinking hard about how to circumvent this ban. Sunday is a very important trading day for the chain - emphasizes our interlocutor. Really. Żabka informed that from the beginning of February, small shops will continue to operate on days with trade restrictions. And decisions about which exemption they will use are to be made individually. The statement of the network was recently published by dlahandlu.pl.

As Maciej Kraus says in an interview with us, there are several ways to circumvent the ban. Others can be reached by small establishments, and others by large chains.

Another solution is quick commerce. Delivery of products to customers is allowed. It may turn out that some stores will officially operate as warehouses that will deliver to the door - explains Kraus.

Another way is "on the owner". As our interlocutor reminds, the owner can stand behind the counter on Sundays with a trade ban. - There may also be an idea to set up a limited liability company. with a million shares. The owner will give employees one share each, they will become co-owners and will be able to work on non-commercial Sundays, says Kraus.

Sam believes in entrepreneurship and cleverness of Poles. The more so that - as he emphasizes - the provision on the ban on Sunday trading is not a provision with strong public support.

And indeed. ARC Rynek i Opinia survey from August last year indicated that every fourth Pole would like to have two Sundays a month for trading. The September study by UCE Research for the AdRetail Group showed that more than half (exactly 54.9 percent) of the respondents would like to open stores on Sundays.

- Everyone wants to get along. It's like in Prohibition times - some people wanted to sell alcohol, others wanted to buy it. We have a prohibition AD 2022 - says Maciej Kraus from Movens Capital.